September on My Mind- Healthy Hearts
“He sent His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave.”- Psalm 120:7
I know that we are in the middle of summer, but part of me is gearing up for the fall season. September has become VISION MONTH at the Shepherd's House. We are less than two months away from launching into a NEW and FRUITFUL season of doing "faith and life" together while also reaching our community with the love of Jesus! Each week leading up to September, I will be sharing about something stirring, to focus on and to get excited about. Today, I want to talk about two areas we launched in the last year that are reaching hearts and transforming lives in a mighty way: Speak Life Cards and Healing Nights! Each of these expressions of faith are answering very real needs in people’s lives and a very real purpose for the church. What I love about these two ministries is their focus to bring God’s hope and healing to the lost and hurting in our city.
Speak Life Cards are a great tool to share our faith and bring encouragement to the people we encounter every day. Each Speak Life Card has an encouraging phrase with a beautiful picture. The backside of the card gives space to write a personalized note based on what the individual is going through and what the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. The goal of these cards is for a person to know how much God loves them and to point them to the place where thousands of other promises can be found…the Bible! An assortment of these cards can be found in the church lobby at the Welcome Station. Pick some up and share an encouraging word today! Romans 15:4 tells us, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”
Wednesday Healing Nights (7 pm) has become a primary focus to our mission. This night was birthed in my heart from a deep desire to see our practices matching our beliefs. Over the past year we have seen many unchurched people attend Wednesday night (and also join us on Sundays); healings of all kinds, including those that no longer could be treated by doctors/medicine; and best of all, people have believed upon hearing the Gospel and decided to follow Jesus! Each week we have a time of worship, a teaching, and take time to pray for every need. God cares about the entire person being made whole. 3 John 2 says, “Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” If you have a need…COME! If you know someone who is hurting…BRING THEM!